Stu Jenks

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Born a son of Virginia, Stu Jenks has lived in Upstate New York, the Piedmont of North Carolina and, for the last 20 years, in Southern Arizona. Stu graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979 and has worked as a waiter, a driver for the Handicapped, a licensed massage therapist, a certified substance abuse counselor, and as a photographer.

For the past number of years, Stu has been exploring in his photography the symbols of the Circle, the Hoop, and the Spiral; creating them in sand, in flame, in Christmas light, in time. Stu said, "Each time I shoot, I learn a little more about the space I'm in, both emotionally internal to my experiences, and physically external to my environment. My images are often, as much about an exploration of my spiritual reality, as they are about an appreciation of form, space, place and design. And sometimes they are just about being playful and magical."

Stu loves cats, bluegrass, the New Moon sky and the Full Moon Earth. Stu is divorced with no kids (but does have a bit of stormy relationship with his old Nissan Pathfinder.) Stu uses an old Rollei, a not-so-old Pentax and a cardboard Pinhole Camera constructed by his father. He shoots exclusively with Ilford products and prints his images on Ilford and Fuji papers. Stu loves Christmas and Epiphany, and the taste of Blue Crabcakes. He drinks the strongest of coffees, and the bitterest of sodas and is a stockholder in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. He loves the Light in the Eye and tends to appreciate the Mystery.